Sad news. :(

Bad news guys. Fritz and I have had to cancel our trip to Texas this weekend due to some personal stuff that came up Tuesday night. We will be back in action soon though. Gotta take care of the families first. We will have to catch up with the BOLS guys at Adepticon!  Have fun every one.  Jawaballs

Well, in one week I will be teaming up in a doubles tournament with Goatboy at Bolscon! I know they changed the name, but I don't know what the new name is off hand. Go take a look at the site. Last year was a blast and this year is even bigger. Fritz and I will be running a Thursday night appocalypse game, there are doubles tournaments on Friday, and a seven game GT going on the rest of the weekend. There are tournaments for Warmachines, WHFB, 40k and I think Flames of War!  This event definitely deserves a spot on your yearly travel list next to Adepticon. I can't wait!  So if you are going, I look forward to meeting you. If you are on the fence, get off and get your self to Austin next weekend!

Jawaballs

The Storm Wardens Collaborative Army Build Drawing!

This is it folks!  The Storm Wardens finish line is near. The drawing will be held THIS SUNDAY at 2pm EST live on Jawaballs Live! and you get to watch it.  Join us for a special presentation of Jawaballs Live! at 2pm Eastern Standard Time.  Jawaballs Live! is a weekly show that is broadcast live every Wednesday at 6pm EST.

But we are not just giving away an army. There is a list of loot to be given away as well! 

A customized deck of cards and patch donated by Bolter and Chainsword

An Airbrush
A Forge World Eldar Vampire kit
Deamon Prince & codex
Secret Weapon $50 credit
2 games day tickets
and more!

The final loot list will be posted before the show, but at any rate, you don't want to miss this!  Simply come to Ustream.tv by CLICKING HERE and join the fun. I suggest you register for the site and create a screen name.  You do not need to attend the live show to win the prizes.  But why not be there!  The show sould take about half an hour. Members of the Storm Wardens build team will be in the live chat as well to answer questions about the project.  Check back here for any final updates, I will edit this post as the end approaches.

Jawaballs

Hobby: Painting a Tau Crisis Suit

Hey folks. As promised, here is a step by step of painting a Tau Crisis Suit!

Step One:
Assemble the model!  Thats right. I assembled the entire crisis suit, save for the weapons. A major divergence from my normal procedure. Normally I assemble the models bit by bit as I paint them. But these suits have few parts that obstruct other parts, plus that is time consuming. So just get the whole guy built. I did not put on the weapon options yet because I intend on magnetizing those.

Step Two:
Get yourself a can of Army Painter Desert Yellow color spray primer. They don't print the color names on the can, only on the cap, so I suggest you use some tape and write the name on the can. Who the hell keeps the caps!

Step Three:

Shake the crap out of the can. For real, give it a shake for at least 3 minutes.  

Step Four:

Set up your models to be painted. Spray outside whenever possible! I'm spraying these right outside on the front porch. I set up some card board to spray on.  I laid out the models, leaving the weapons right on the sprue. You can take them off too, as sometimes the sprue blocks the spray from some parts of the guns, forcing you to do touch up.  The choice is yours, do as you will.

Step Five:
Now here is the part where you need to make a decision.  To prime or not to prime?  Army Painter Color Primers are just that... Spray Prime. You do not need to pre-prime your models. Simply paint them with the base color you want and you are good to go. Having said that, you need to consider shade and hue.  For example, Desert Yellow is a very bright color. This will be toned down in a later step using Medium Quickshade, but some of you might like really dark Tau. In that case, spray prime your models black!  Or the opposite... you may like a super bright model, so spray them white first.  It is useful to know that you can get three shades of the same color, simply by under painting black or white, or leaving the model grey.

It is also useful to know how your surface interacts with the paint. Metal and Plastic react differently to spray prime. If you are painting a metal model, or a combination model, it may be useful to spray them with a black or white undercoat. First of all, to make sure that the model is all the same color, but also, paint easily flecks off from Metal. A dedicated spray prime might be a little more useful at helping the paint not scrape off the metal.  Whatever you decide, try it out on an old model first. I used an old Eldar Heavy Weapon and painted it all sorts of different ways when working on metal.  The bottom line... EXPERIMENT BEFORE YOU WORK ON YOUR REAL MODEL. You've been warned.

On these plastic models, I am spraying directly onto the plastic, with no under coat.  When you spray, hold the can relatively close to the model. The pigment in Army Painter spray is ultra fine. So fine that it may dry in mid air! This will cause a sand paper texture to appear on your model. BAD! The way to avoid it is spray close, in quick short bursts. Never start a burst directly on the model. Activate the spray on the cardboard, then swipe the can over the model.

Spray the models with a thin layer. It is always better to spray multiple thin layers than one thick coat.  There may be areas of exposed grey still. It is ok. Flip the model over, do the other side. Then come back to the first side. If you attempt to completely cover the model in one go, you will fill in details.  Ive seen it happen, and done it myself.  Slow and steady gets the job done here folks!

Step Six:

Once the spraying is done, bring your little rascal inside and get ready for the next stage! I actually assembled the weapons at this point. I will not magnetize this particular model, since most of the suits in my army will have the same gear.  I will do a magnetizing tutorial later.  At this point, the little plastic stand is quite useful too. Stick that up his butt.  

Now it is time to bust out your Army Painter Quickshade. I am using Medium tone for this army.  With a cheapo brush, apply the shade to the model.  Observe in the video:

Check back next week for the rest of the tutorial.

Public Service Announcement:

Protect your baby. Spray outside. You may think it is ok to spray just a swipe or two of primer onto your models in the confines of your hobby room. Ventilated or not, this can be dangerous to your baby. He weighs a handful of pounds. If you are like me, you way much, much, much more than that. Just a few particles of possibly dangerous inhalants can be much more harmful to your baby.  Do you and your baby a favor, spray outside.  

Blood Angels list help!

I got this email today:

Hi Jawa,

I have been following you for about a year and a half (not quite sure) but it was back when you first posted your Venn Diagram of doom list.  Anyways I got into BA back then because I loved the idea of the Ba'al Predator. This codex comes in and things look better but once again the BA are more of a finesse army than kick to the groin army like wolves.  So in this edition I love the idea of the storm raven and am trying to make it work.  I have come up with 2 lists and I would like to know what you think about them.

List 1

HQ
-Reclusiarch 

Elite 
-Sanguinary Priest * 2 

-Assault Terminators * 10 
Thunder Hammer & Storm Shield * 10 

-Furioso Dreadnought 
Blood Fists 
Heavy Flamer 
Extra Armor 

Troops 
-Death Company *10 
Thunder hammer 
Power Weapon * 2 

-DC Dread * 2 
Blood Talons 
Heavy Flamer 

Heavy 
-3 ravens with EA 

In this list the Reclusiarch rides with the DC in a raven with the Furisio.  The Termies combat squad and hitch a ride on a raven with the 2 DC dreads and the priests ride with them.  Now I know I cant capture objectives, so my second list drops 1 raven, 1 DC dread, and 5 termies, and adds 2 AS squads with jump packs with various gear (generally 2 meltaguns, a PF on the sarge and a Infernus pistol on the sarge).  To finish the list we give one of the priests a jump pack and you have some objective takers or you can combat squad the meltas and run some deep striking suicide squads to pop tanks.  

Any advice?  Ive played 2 games with 1 raven (with DC inside) and done pretty well but I just like the idea of an air force.

Thanks, keep up the great blog.

-Frank 




Thanks for the email Frank!  First off, go with the second list.  I have been banging around a 3 Raven list myself and have come to the conclusion that to make it work, you have to go light on points for the rest of your army.  That means that terminators may be out of the question. First of all, they don't have jump packs so they cannot assault out of a Raven after it moves!  Also, Death Company are a fail for the first reason you pointed out. No takey objectivy! Plus we get into issues with Rage, and cost.  Death Company just arent that great for what you are getting at the cost, and they have a big drawback.  IF you were so inclined to play them, play a 5 man squad and buy a Dread, give the DC jump packs and attach the reclusiarch and let them go. Paint their raven black and it will be quite imposing!


Having said that, here is my suggested list. Bear in mind, this may not be the most competitive:


Libby JP
Reclusiarch JP Infernus


Troops:
RAS PW
RAS PW
RAS Razorback with your choice, flamer or bolter
Scouts x5 with snipers, sgt has Locator
DC x5 one pw, JPS
DC Dread, Blood Claws


Elite:
Sang Priest with JP and PW
x2 Furioso Dread your taste on free options


Heavy:
x3 Ravens extra armor


2k points on the nose.  


Seems pretty thin!  Libby, Reclusiarch and Priest join each of the two RAS and the DC.  Give the  libby preferred enemy and lance.  Or str 10.  Load them up in their favorite ride and have at it.  Infiltrate scouts and have a little fun with deep strike, or just reserve the ravens and bring them in off your edge moving 24".  Reserve the razor and have it come into claim objectives opened up by your shock troops.  


Weakness?  You got crap.  :)  10 marines and 5 DC to wipe out enemy defenders is iffy at best. 3 dreads is nice!  But not a sure thing. Odds are you are going to bring them on the table, and at 2k points there is so much enemy fire that they will all die.  Of course there are tactics you can try to use to keep them alive.  After all they are gunships.  Deep strike em, fire off all your load, hope you live! Honestly you need another 500 points to make this army effective. 


Not much more I can really say about it. These things are just too point heavy to make them useful. (They cost what a Valkrye should cost). Especially taking three.  My suggestion?  Take one.  Fill it with your DC and let them go have fun. Spend the rest of the points on some hard hitting ground forces.  Hopefully we will see some raven lists popping up after Hard Boys is over this weekend!  


Oh, and the Storm Raven conversion in the picture is for sale if any one wants it.  60 bucks plus shipping as is and it comes with a flyer base, and all parts needed to finish the conversion including all weapon options.


Jawaballs!




EDIT:
I was mistaken. Any model can assault out of a Storm Raven provided it has not moved over 12". Only models with Jump Packs can take advantage of the Skies of Blood special rule. 

Storm Wardens Army last call! Help a great charity.

This is your last chance to get in on the Storm Wardens collaborative army build.  The time to make donations ends this Sunday!  If you have not yet gotten your donation in by now, what are you waiting for??  But I just wanted to take a moment to talk about the bigger picture.  Sure, the army is fantastic. This is a true first and I only wish I was eligible to win.

But really, this is not about toys at all. It is about being part of something bigger than yourself.  Every one of us who donated or worked on this project is stepping up and joining a cause that universally offers aid, no matter who or where you are.  That is the essence of community and compassion, and that is the defining quality that makes our little gaming family so special. If only more people in this world did the same! It does not matter how much you donated, it just matters that you did. You should be proud to know that your dollar will go towards helping those who need it.  You can find out more about Doctors Without Borders for yourself. They won a Nobel Peace Prize! As the end of the drive approaches, dig deep into those pockets and give what you can. If you already did, thank you. We know times are tight. Know that you are part of something great.

Be sure to check out the Storm Wardens blog for pics of the loot!

Jawaballs

The joys of list building!

Me and Fritz posing it up with the BOLS crew!

In case you didn't know, Jawaballs is going to the Hard Boys finals this week. Needless to say, I have been working furiously writing lists, re-equiping my army to be wysiwyg, and doing it over and over. No small chore at 2500 points!  I have not been posting my list on the blog in the name of secrecy. Not that any of my possible opponents really care what Jawaballs is fielding at Hard Boys... but still.  No need to be too shary too early!

Any way, I think I have banged out the final version, and just finished converting every model... again.  The warcouncil has met several times, the sages have been consulted, and my fingers have been glued together. I think I am done!

So what is in the list?  If you caught my broadcast tonight you know. Otherwise, you will have to wait until I post up my Hard Boys Finals results.  And boy will I be glad when it is over.  I would love to sit back and say it does not really matter, but who am I fooling. This IS important.  I want cred!  Being the only Blood Angels player to qualify for Vegas using the PDF matters not.  I need to do well at Hard Boys to finally announce my arrival.  Sure most of 'good' players scoff at something like Hard Boys and choose not to participate for any number of reasons like cheezy armies, lucky dice, dirt bag players, ruining the spirit of the game etc. But frankly, I don't care. Guys who do well in Hard Boys are hard core and worthy of respect in my book.  I want to be hard core. I would not mind being amongst the best players in the country even if this year that title will belong to people at three different events.  

What are my chances? Slim.  Not to downplay my skills with fake modesty. I know how to play the game and I feel that my ability to visualize the battlefield from an artists perspective gives me an advantage. But every one at Hard Boys finals is good.  I say slim because of my chosen army. Blood Angels players just have not figured out the uber connection yet to set the codex above the top.  I hate to say it, but guard is still pumping out stronger, more efficient armies.  It is not a complaint, just a fact.  Can my army beat the guard Alpha strike?  With a little luck for sure! In fact, that is what it all comes down to. Luck.  A couple weeks ago I played Danny Internets in a tournament in which he got the first turn and tabled me in 4 turns.  Our game was so short we had time to try it again, only giving me the lucky Seize the Initiative, and sure enough, I returned the favor.  With Corbulo I had two tries, not bad odds, just needed that little push!  I should have rubbed my rabbits foot that day.  It came down to something as simple as a die roll deciding the game. The point is that Hard Boys is just three games being played by the best players in the country, as proven by their placing in the top three in two prior tournaments.  All of us got skills, all of us are packing armies that can win. The only questions is... who will lady luck shine upon this time?  Can I get that lucky die roll to go my way three games in a row? It is a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. Hopefully I will bring the Dynamite this Saturday!

After the tournament I will post up the list I played with, the list I was going to play with, and the list I used to get there but abandonded.  

What is next for me? I need to submit my list for Bolscon which I will do tomorrow. Then I need to git paintin!  I am going to Bolscon to not only compete for the win in the 2k tournament, but I want to compete for Best Painted.  Plus Goatboy and I are gonna put a whoopin on Fritz and Brent.  Truth be told though, I am not painting my army for Bolscon. I am painting it for myself. I formerly prided myself upon never playing grey plastic in a tournament, or any game.  And since the baby came I am embarrassed to say I have done just that.  One thing I am known for is a high standard in painting and I need to reclaim that standard for my self.  I wish to have my army completed by Gamesday and in the armies on parade.

After that, be looking for my Tau army to march it's way into the first Battle for Salvation GT pitting me in a struggle not to finish last.  All I really want is to get Fritz on the table and put the Tau Hurt on him. I will become a student of Stelek in the next few months for sure! Then my Blood Angels will make an appearance at The Warstore Weekend, and again at Mechanicon.  Hopefully not long after that I can start a space pirate army bristling with Dark Lances and Jawasluts!  

Oh, if you have not paid attention to my live broadcasts, don't miss next Wednesday, I will be painting my first Jawa-slu... Jawa-girlfriend. :)

Finally, Next weekend July 25th, I will be hosting the drawing for the Storm Wardens army live!  Reserve that sunday!  

Ok enough typing, I need to get back to posting more often so I have less to say!  

Jawaballs

Jawaballs Ebay auctions!

As much as I love Bartertown and Rogue Market, sometimes you just get sick of dudes demanding that you ship first because they have a number that is a little bit higher than yours, or dickering with you for 3 weeks over nothing then backing out of a deal.  Ebay tends to simplify things sometimes.  So I am offering a few items up on ebay!  Check below. I will be adding more stuff asap. Going up for sale? A Black Templars speeder, BT terminator squad, Blood Angels Death Co. Dreads with drop pods, Vampire Counts Blood Knights, and lots more!  Check back often to catch a great deal on a sweet painted model.



Jawaballs

Hobby: Painting Tau FAST!

Hey all. I thought I would share a broader part of my hobby today and show you a quick picture of a new project I have started. Well, not really new, I have had these models for over a year, but I have finally decided to take the plunge and build and paint my Tau! This project is being done during my spare time, in between sessions of the massive overhaul of my Blood Angels army.  I am pretty much starting from scratch with my Blood Angels, so need a break from the red now and again!

I have videos on the way showing a nice step by step process on this, and will be posting up a tutorial here on the blog, but I wanted to share with you a WIP pic of one of my Tau Crisis Suits!  This suit took no more than 10 minutes to paint using Army Painter Desert Yellow spray and Medium tone Quick Shade.  Sure it is not perfect, but in my opinion it looks great for any table top, and an entire army painted to this standard could easily win Best Painted at many tournaments.  Look for the tutorial next week!

Jawaballs

Storm Wardens Collaborative Army Build Update!

This is it! I am coming down the home stretch. I have to say I would have been done a while ago, and have done more, but the Jawababy waits for no man, movement or model.  I know next time I will be able to contribute a whole lot more.  My champion from the Company Command squad is done, as is the rhino. Today I am finishing up the 10 tactical marines.  I sent the Jawababy off to day care! :)  '

There is still time to enter the drawing to win the complete army! You can find more details by clicking HERE.

In case you just got back from Mars or escaped from Michael Jacksons secret hyperbolic chamber, a group of talented bloggers, and myself, got together to paint up an army!  We hit up a ton of business for more contribution, plus got a boat load of stuff for free from other guys that just wanted to help. All of this stuff is being given out to YOU! You only need contribute to the fund by purchasing a ticket, or ten.  Just check out the official press release and join the fun! The final drawing is July 25th. Hurry because I believe the time to contribute ends soon.

Jawaballs

The gauntlet has been dropped... Plus this week on Jawaballs Live!

The gauntlet has been dropped!  Jawaballs and Fritz answer. A youtube follower has challenged us to come out and put our reputations on the line. So ask and we deliver!  Baring an unforseen development, Fritz and I will be traveling out to The Battle Standard  at 194 Buckland Hills Drive Unit 2002, Manchester CT 06082 for some 40k action on Friday, July 9th. 

We will be arriving around 2 or 3 PM and taking on all challengers, but I have a game reserved for Haloister123 from Youtube and his Chaos army.  I just called the venue and spoke to Tommy and he said open gaming usually starts around 5, so hopefully we can get started early! 

What else is coming up? 

Jawaballs and Fritz will be at Bolscon  on Thursday, July 29 and staying for the weekend. Come play in our Massive appocalypse challenge on Thursday night and pick a side... Eldar vs Blood Angels!

Also, come meet us at Gamesday 2010 Click the link to see a picture of Jawaballs on the GW website!  Gamesday is on Saturday, August 21. Fritz and Jawaballs will have their meet and greet painting tips and tactics club table again this year. Come challenge us to a game on our full sized table, or take part in an HQ Gladiator event! 

On August 14th, Fritz and I may be traveling to The Nova Open.  More on that to come.

Coming up in November look for Jawaballs and Fritz at Mechanicon! They ran their first annual event last fall and it was fantastic where yours truly finished 3rd, narrowly losing 1st due to Corbulo failing a 3+ armor save on the last shot of the game...  I cant wait to play again this year!

Battle for Salvation will be running it's first Grand Tournament on Columbus Day weekend as of now. More on that to come.

And finally, tomorrow on Jawaballs Live! join Jawaballs as he  puts the finishing touches on his contribution to the Storm Wardens collaborative army build for charity.  Show starts at 6pm EST but may be on even sooner, I tend to start the show when I get the opportunity. By the way, check out the Storm Wardens Blog for pics of the finished models in the army. Mine will be posted up soon.


Lots of great news and notes.  I hope to see as many of you as possible at upcoming events! 

Jawaballs